I have a 14 year old daughter who is coming to live with me in the Netherlands. She does not speak any Dutch. Therefore, can you recommend a Dutch state school where my daughter can learn the language as well as being taught the normal academic subjects?

In general, most international schools teach in English, but there are also schools that teach children in their native language, e.g. the German, French, Indonesian, Japanese and Korean schools.

The Dutch government has set kerndoelen (attainment targets) which define what children are expected to have acquired in the way of knowledge, understanding and skills by the end of primary school. Whilst these attainment targets describe in general terms the skills and knowledge a child must have acquired, the referentieniveaus (benchmark levels) for mathematics and language specifically prescribe the degree of proficiency that a child must attain in any given year of schooling.

The core curriculum for all basisscholen (primary schools) must include the following subjects:

• Dutch
• English (from group 7 on- 10/11 years years old)
• Arithmetic and mathematics
• Social and environmental studies (including, for instance, geography, history, science – including biology, citizenship, social and life skills – including road safety, healthy living, social structures – including political studies, and religious and ideological movements)
• Creative expression (including, for instance, music, drawing and handicrafts)
• Sports and movement.

Schools are free to offer other subjects such as French, German or religious studies, but these subjects are not required by law.

There are an increasing number of schools providing bilingual lessons. Most of them are secondary schools. In the Netherlands,  Tweetalig Onderwijs – TTO (bilingual education) came into existence in 1989. In most cases, TTO refers to bilingual (mostly English-Dutch) and  Voorbereidend  Wetenschappelijk Onderwijs – VWO, where this is the pre-university stream in Dutch secondary education.

In the TTO schools, a wide variety of subjects such as history, geography, math, physics, biology, chemistry, economics, IT, arts and music are taught in English. Bilingual lessons are taught over the preceding six years leading up to university entrance. Whilst in the last three years, students will focus upon the academic subjects that they will be examined on (in Dutch), some of the lessons will still be provided in English. Bilingual students also have the opportunity to sit the internationally recognised International Baccalaureate (IB) English Certificate. A successful result qualifies these students to enrol at English-speaking universities.

The aim of bilingual education is to prepare students for an increasingly global environment. Hence, whilst foreign language skills are important, the lessons are taught in a broad, internationally oriented context.

It should be noted that the Dutch bilingual school system has been set up with the emphasis upon native speaking Dutch children becoming competent in speaking English as their second language rather than vice versa.

In the Netherlands, all children aged 5-18 are required to attend school. Hence, ‘home schooling’ is not allowed. There are, however, a few situations in which an exception can be made. If you have objections to the view of life (e.g. religion) of every school in your area, you need to give a declaration to your municipality about this. You can contact your municipality for more information about the content of the declaration.

If your child is physically and/or mentally unable to attend school, you need permission for home schooling from your municipality.

Nederlandse Vereniging voor Thuisonderwijs – NVvTO is the Netherlands home schooling association. It is an organisation of parents (and other adults who function as such) who wish to home school their children whilst in the Netherlands and have done so in the past, or plan to do so in the future. More information regarding this can be found on Thuisonderwijs.nl/english.

The leerplichtambtenaar is an official in charge of checking that the rules regarding leerplichtwet (compulsory educational law) are followed.

According to Dutch law, schools are responsible for monitoring and controlling all absences of their children from school. They are legally required to inform the leerplichtambtenaar (official in charge) when any child misses more than sixteen hours of school over a period of four weeks. The school may also inform the leerplichtambtenaar if a child has been late twelve times for school.

Once the leerplichtambtenaar has received such information from the school, he/she will contact the parents to determine what action may be taken.

Only in a few specific circumstances can schools grant permission for children to miss school during the school year.
Schools may grant permission for a child to be absent from school for events such as weddings, funerals, religious holidays and moving house. For every other absence, it is compulsory for the parent to ask for permission from the head of school in advance.

School attendance records are regularly inspected by a leerplichtambtenaar, who tends to also check for pupil absentees right at the beginning or end of the school term, as they are regarded as very suspicious periods.

If your child is capable of HAVO or VWO  but her Dutch level is insufficient, a kopklas can be the solution.This year following group 8 focuses on improving children’s Dutch and enabling them to attend the most appropriate secondary school. Choosing this class requires high motivation by both parents and child, and it is best to discuss this option with your child’s teacher.